DENVER, CO – JANUARY 23: Patrick Marleau #12 of the San Jose Sharks looks for an opening against the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center on January 23, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Last night against Colorado, 37 year old Patrick Marleau played out of his damn mind. He didn’t even play like a younger version of himself, but his statistics, 4 goals in 1 period, hearkened back to a player with a reputation that far exceeded his own. The last player to score 4 in a period was Mario Lemieux, in 1997.

His four goals accounted for 80% of his team’s output on their 5-2 win over Colorado. Adding to the esteem was the fact that all these goals were in the third period, which San Jose entered while trailing. Never mind the fact that these goals might have to be prorated since they were against lowly Colorado, this was only the 12th time a player has scored 4 times in the same game.